Wade Naramore
Wade Naramore is a judge for the 18th Judicial Circuit East in Arkansas. He was elected to the court in the runoff election on November 4, 2014, and assumed office on January 1, 2015. His current term expires on December 31, 2020.[1]
Naramore was reinstated to the bench by the Arkansas Supreme Court in February 2017, following a year of suspension during the investigation into his son's death, who died after being left in a hot car in July 2015. The court ruled that Naramore would not be allowed to preside over cases of child neglect. Naramore was found not guilty of negligent homicide in August 2016. Read more about this story below.
Biography
Naramore received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2002. He received his J.D. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 2005.[2]
Before his election to the court, Naramore served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Garland County. He also previously was a partner at the Naramore Law Firm, P.A. and served as a court-appointed attorney for impoverished families in juvenile and domestic cases. He began his legal career in Little Rock, Ark., and was an in-house counsel for the corporate headquarters of Dillard's in that city.[2]
Awards and associations
- Arkansas Bar Association
- Board of Governors
- Lawyers Assisting Military Personnel Committee
- Member, House of Delegates
- Member, Legal Services Committee
- Member, Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee
- American Bar Association
- Garland County Bar Associations
- First United Methodist Church
- Member, William R. Overton Inn of Court[2]
Elections
2014
See also: Arkansas judicial elections, 2014
Naramore ran for election to the Eighteenth Circuit East.
General: He faced Michael H. Crawford, John Howard and Cecilia Dyer in the general election on May 20, 2014. He earned 28.7% of the vote in the general election. He defeated Cecilia Dyer in a runoff election on November 4, 2014, with 52.8% of the vote.
He earned 28.7% of the vote in the general election. He defeated Cecilia Dyer in a runoff election on November 4, 2014, with 52.8% of the vote.[1][3][4]
Noteworthy events
Judge charged for son's death
On July 24, 2015, Judge Naramore's one-year old son died after being left in a hot car unattended. Special Prosecutor Scott Ellington began an investigation of Naramore and the incident. The judge discontinued his judicial duties at the court and substitutes covered his division since the death.[5]
On November 23, 2015, Naramore stated to the police that he was with his son in the car on the way to work after 8 am on the day of his son’s death. After leaving work early, he ran some errands and went to pick up his son from daycare. He then noticed that his son was in the back seat and had never been dropped off at daycare. He said his son was in the car for about five hours.[6]
Naramore was arrested on February 11, 2016, and charged with negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor. He was released the same day on a $5,000 bail. The maximum penalty for a class A misdemeanor is one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.[6] Naramore pleaded not guilty on March 11, 2016.[7] His trial was initially scheduled for June 14, 2016, but was delayed until August 15, 2016. Four days after the trial commenced, Naramore was found not guilty of negligent homicide.[8][9][10][11]
After Naramore's arrest, the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission recommended temporarily suspending Naramore with pay, which the Arkansas Supreme Court agreed to in mid-February. He remained suspended while the commission conducted a separate investigation as to whether he was fit to serve.[12] In February 2017, the state supreme court said he could return to the bench, and in March, the commission dismissed the complaints against him. Naramore is not allowed to hear cases related to child neglect.[13]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wade Naramore Arkansas judge. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Arkansas judicial elections
- Courts in Arkansas
- Garland County, Arkansas
- Judicial selection in Arkansas
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "November 4, 2014 Nonpartisan Runoff Election, Official Results," accessed November 24, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wade Naramore: Circuit Judge Division II, "Meet Wade," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate information: Wade Naramore," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Garland County: 2014 Preferential Primary Elections and Nonpartisan Election," updated May 20, 2014
- ↑ THV11, "Substitutes cover for circuit judge under investigation for son's death," January 6, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Arkansas Online, "Circuit judge arrested on negligent-homicide charge in son's hot-car death," February 11, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Matters, "March 11 Court Date for HS Judge in Child's Hot Car Death," March 1, 2016
- ↑ CBS News, "Arkansas judge pleads not guilty in son's death in hot car," March 11, 2016
- ↑ THV 11, "New details revealed in hot car death of Ark. judge's son," June 13, 2016
- ↑ KATV, "Trial to begin for judge charged in son's hot car death," August 14, 2016
- ↑ UALR Public Radio, "Arkansas Judge Acquitted On Charges In Son's Hot-Car Death," August 20, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Business, "Judge Wade Naramore Suspended After Charges Filed in Son's Death," February 18, 2016
- ↑ Washington Times, "Complaints dismissed against judge whose son died in hot car," March 3, 2017
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas
State courts:
Arkansas Supreme Court • Arkansas Court of Appeals • Arkansas Circuit Courts • Arkansas District Courts • Arkansas City Courts
State resources:
Courts in Arkansas • Arkansas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Arkansas
